Gleason's Sporting World: Best, worst of times for social media

Points to ponder while wondering if the past couple weeks officially brought out the best and worst of social media.

Kevin Gleason

Points to ponder while wondering if the past couple weeks officially brought out the best and worst of social media.

Folks raised millions of dollars for a deadly disease that will be forever tied to sports. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter and other social media outlets, people showed the unity and warmth and camaraderie that is vibrant all across our world. They showed the simple act of absorbing ice cold water over their heads contributed to a roughly 600 percent increase in funds earmarked for battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease.

Just beautiful stuff.

Then we got the worst of social media within minutes of Tony Stewart's car taking down Kevin Ward Jr. in a dirt-track race Saturday night in Canandaigua. Facebook and Twitter became dumping grounds for premature opinions on whether Stewart intentionally or accidentally ran over Ward. Stewart immediately was tried and convicted on social sites without the presence of any type of investigation or thorough findings.

The arm-chair quarterbacks came out in full force. Except this wasn't debating whether Eli Manning deserved to be benched. This was about a man dying and another man's car causing the death. Reading posts for an hour or so, I went to bed early Sunday thinking Stewart would be arrested by day's end. That, of course, wasn't the case.

Maybe information pointing to Stewart's guilt will become available in time. In time. But social media's clock is always running.

Right now, Stewart's entitled to the most basic of American rights — innocent until proven guilty — despite already having been convicted on social media.

Roger Goodell is having a heck of a run here. He screwed up the bounty investigation with the Saints and dished out grossly excessive punishment. He unforgivably handed Ray Rice a measly two-game suspension for beating up his then-fiance.

Now you get the feeling Goodell knows he messed up. Not that he would ever admit it, but Goodell surely knows he slapped Rice on the wrist for smacking a woman. How else to explain the NFL leaking plans to toughen standards in cases of domestic violence?

It's never too late, but in this case it's really, really late. There is a long history of NFL players placing their hands on women. Yet, the league still has no harsh policy on disciplinary measures? Blame Goodell and the players' union for that.

What exactly is Matt Harvey wishing to accomplish by pitching a game or two in the majors this year?

We get it. Harvey is super competitive and itching to get back on the mound despite the Mets' wild-card chances ranking slim to none. He needs to exercise common sense. He's too valuable a pitcher to rush back from Tommy John surgery. It's about time he protects himself instead of forcing the organization to protect him.

On another Mets topic, I think it's safe to say their dugout towel bit hasn't exactly caught on like the Ice Bucket Challenge.

No wonder the Mets have all those towels. Their fans threw them in a while ago.

By the way, I am surprised by one aspect of the Ice Bucket Challenge. Sure, it brings great warmth seeing so many people support such an important cause. But I thought only we media folks were allowed to pour cold water on things.

We are a funny group. My colleagues in the press must have had a good chuckle sharing the news that Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has been given a mandate by the sport's hierarchy to increase the interest of young fans.

Lots of luck with that.

Put it this way, if Manfred's job depends on increasing the young fan base, he might as well retire before moving into his new office.

I have two kids, ages 11 and 12. We've gone to a bunch of Mets games, which come to think of it might largely explain the bulk of young fans turning to other sports.

You know how much baseball my kids watch at the stadium?

About three innings.

That's through the heightened excitement of seeing the game up close.

They can't sit still that long with so much time devoted to adjusting batting gloves and constant late-game pitching changes.

Three innings, and I have to bribe them with a Shake Shack trip to get them through the third.

The rest of the time they are out past center field playing Whiffle ball or using the shoulder-splitting speed-pitch machine or on the video game or asking me to buy them souvenirs.

Lots of luck with that mandate, Rob. Baseball can only con the young fan with non-game enticements for so long. Eventually baseball has to rely on the game.

In truly pathetic news, the Jets asked Fireman Ed to come back, according to a story in Yahoo! You remember Fireman Ed, right? Ed Anzalone, who wore the fireman gear while leading the Jets' J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets chant before quitting following Mark Sanchez's famous Butt Fumble two years ago. Fireman Ed cited fan abuse, of all things, for his move from head cheerleader to normal fan acting relatively normal at games.

So the Jets asked him to come back.

He refused.

I don't know. It seems odd that the guy who could get 80,000 fans to break into spooky silence couldn't get over a few of them busting his chops. Where's the justice?

Mo'Ne Davis should be in the Mets' bullpen for the stretch run, right?

Listen, if you don't know who she is, you just aren't paying enough attention to the Little League World Series. Which, I believe, ESPN now covers more thoroughly than Johnny Manziel and LeBron James together.